Former Amazon Europe Vice-President, investor and ‘serial entrepreneur’, Simon Murdoch, has joined Octopus Ventures as a Senior Investment Partner.

Octopus Ventures, a division of Octopus Investments Limited (‘Octopus’), specialises in early stage venture capital and growth capital transactions. Murdoch will work alongside Alex Macpherson and his team across the company’s portfolio of investments.

Specifically, Murdoch will focus on “managing and guiding businesses after Octopus has made an investment.” While the team’s current early stage portfolio consists of 25 companies, including internet businesses Graze.com, Zoopla! and GetOptics.

Murdoch joined Amazon in 1998 when the online retailer acquired Bookpages, a bookselling company that he founded in 1996. Murdoch then went on to launch Amazon.co.uk in his role as VP Europe.

In 2000, he co-founded and was a partner of Chase Episode 1 where he invested in and advised early stage companies including Betfair. Subsequently he has also been personally involved with successful UK internet and technology businesses including LoveFilm, Shazam and Shutl.

Murdoch is currently the founder and CEO of StormForward Ltd, an ecommerce strategic consultancy business which helps pure play online and multichannel retailers to increase their online sales and profits.